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Other than apple pie and stuffing, the next best thing during the Thanksgiving season is crafting turkeys. And I don’t mean just one or two turkeys, I mean crafting LOTS of turkeys. Because turkeys on paper are a lot better than turkey on my plate. Well, that’s my opinion anyway. So we’ve been making lots of turkeys and talking about things that make us thankful: roller coaster rides, trains, and popcorn. Hope you’re getting into the thankful spirit, too.

For this little guy, we just cut out some wings and a body from an old calendar and extra scrap book paper. He turned out pretty cute and he’s very happy in our flock. Happy Thursday.

This entry was written on Sunday, but posted on a Thursday. Some weeks are like that.

There is a blue car that sits in the corner of our apartment. I bought it one rainy morning, on a whim, when my friend, Tracy and I were wandering World Market. We had to have a man help us put it in her car, but he wasn’t listening and said it couldn’t be done. We decided to just put it in ourselves. Yes folks, it could be done. And so after shoving it in the car, we brought it home. I remember it was the first bigger, more expensive item I had purchased since Sean and I had moved in together. I was kind of afraid he would be mad at me for buying it. But he wasn’t. He silently got his tool kit from the closet and started putting it together. Now, some days when I come home he is sitting in it, reading or playing his guitar, and it makes me very happy, to see this item a staple in our home, to see all the random things we’ve purchased, all coming together to make our home.

This blue chair is the best place to sit and drink coffee. But I don’t always have the opportunity to appreciate it like I wish. So when I do come to this chair, on Sundays normally, I come quietly, before Sean has risen, while the heaters hum and clank, and I simply sit. On this particular Sunday the sun has come out for the first time in almost a week. It comes pouring into our space, and I look at the streaks on our wood floors realizing I should probably sweep. But it seems there is always something to do, something to finish, something to clean. And this morning I am at peace. I don’t have time for worry; I’m too busy drinking coffee. It’s almost the weekend…I think I can, I think I can, I think I can….

You guys, we love these plates. A lot! Do you have them, too? If you don’t, you have to invest in these for your little ones! Whenever I pull these out at breakfast or lunch, we get the serious giggles. They’re just so funny to three year old’s. And maybe it’s odd they get so much pleasure from eating hair and earrings, eyes and cheeks, but I can’t blame them: these faces are so cute, you really do just want to eat them all up.

So what I haven’t mentioned in all of these 1920 Bachelorette Party posts is that my friend is marrying the most hilarious, ridiculous person on the planet. And really, that isn’t an exaggeration. Her fiance is a real stitch, always having something to say or comment on, always ready to make a joke and laugh loudly. So without him coming to this celebration we were all a little down… we wondered what he would have to say about the madness of the night. I knew I wanted to incorporate him some way into the night, but I just didn’t know how. Then, as Ashley and I were plotting, it came to me, we would use his face on our stir sticks and straws. But it didn’t seem enough of a statement that he would make! I sat on the idea a little longer, refusing to give up because Lord knows he never does.

Then Friday during lunch, as Ashley and I were creating our stir sticks, it came to me, we would also use his face to tell our guests what types of pizzas we were having for dinner. And we would make little bubbles of the smart-ass things he would have to say about our gourmet pizzas (he never understands why we just don’t put bacon and more bacon on them). Needless, to say, this completely ridiculous addition to our party was the highlight of the night. There were more pictures taken of the groom than anything else. And that lucky bride? Well, I gave her the extras to take back home.

PROJECT ONE with Forty Faces of the Groom::: Food Labels

First, I photo edited his face from a picture. Then cut & pasted it, so twenty faces would fit onto an 8×10 once we printed it out. Then, we were able to cut out his face out and glue it onto these sparkly 1920’s circles. (Yes, It was a little frightening to have 40 of those smiles looking up at us during the project!)

Then, we made conversation bubbles to put his not so politically correct comments on. We attached them to tooth picks and stuck them in the center of the pizzas. (Note: I decided not to put allll the pizzas and comments up— the internet never forgets ;))

I have a friend, Kate, who says that relationships are like travel: an experience. She talks about Paris and how when when she goes to Paris, she gets the “Paris experience”. People should be like that, too, she thinks; that when we come into a friendship or a relationship, we should embrace people for who they are like we embrace cities for what they are. We’d do a lot less judging she thinks. And I think she’s probably right. Sometimes I spend too much time worrying about people’s actions. I get annoyed with people. I forget that maybe they could be thinking I’m annoying, too. Which I can be, I’m sure. Probably we all are in different ways.

But her theory got me thinking about my own friendships. I have a lot of good people in my life. I appreciate the experience they each offer. This November I want to show my joy for the ride their friendships offer. It won’t be hard. If it’s hard I’m doing something wrong. If it’s hard it means I’m not present in my experience with them.

I want to be a welcoming city people visit. I want return visitors. I must ask myself what kind of environment I’m creating and remind myself to stay present and enjoy the scenery. I think this challenge will be exciting. What to join the experience, too?

Hey guys and happiest of Halloweens from America’s two coolest nannies, Danielle & Erica! Okay, maybe that was a narcissistic title dub, but it has to be pretty close to the truth, right? To get us all in the Halloween spirit this rainy day, I’ve invited Erica, all way from Sunny California’s Nannypology, over to the Green Egg to share her thoughts on Halloween as seen through the eyes of a nanny. I hope you enjoy her take on the madness as much as I did. And be sure to pop over to her site and check out my Halloween craft and then read on into her world.Halloween, Nannyween

Ahh, fall. What a great time of year. The fall colors are rampant, the brisk breeze is blowing, and everyone is getting ready to snuggle down for winter. It’s a peaceful time!

Wait, what? Not in MY world! In my world, the world of a nanny, fall equals Halloween. Halloween is anything but peaceful. Let’s try this again.

The kiddos are waiting in anxious anticipation, the candy is flowing from every direction, the baby is hating her itchy costume, her sister isn’t sharing the ghost stickers, she WILL NOT wear that hat…

What a peaceful time indeed!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween… it’s one of my fav holidays in fact! But Halloween with kiddos is a different animal. I know we want the darlings to be dressed to the nines, adorable but sometimes… it just isn’t in the cards people! I know they’re children and let’s let ‘em party, I totally agree… but sugar addicts aren’t cute!

Here are some “rules” no… “tidbits” that can make Halloween just that much easier for us nanny types:

Dress up for COMFORT rather than CUTENESS. (Complainy McGees don’t have fun.)

Prep the “you can only eat candy until next Sunday” talk months in advance. We don’t need sad kiddos when the candy mysteriously disappears. (Don’t lie mommies and daddies, we all know you want to toss it quick!)

Dress for WARMTH rather than CUTENESS (especially here in San Francisco!)

Pack all the Halloween crafts into one week, no lingering zombies please! Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner, each holiday should only get a week, amiright??

Dress for CUTE not SCARY! Wait… am I being contradictory here? Who cares… they all apply. We don’t need terrified 2-year-old afraid to talk to their blood & guts cousin!

If the kiddo is scared to go in the haunted house, don’t make them go in!

Dressing for their age, aka No Miley Cyrus’.

HAVE FUN! It’s supposed to be fun, not stressful. If the kid doesn’t like the bunny ears… who cares! Maybe he’s an earless bunny. Point is, it’s not about the photo op (always); it’s about the fun.

This Fall, I Am….Abiding strictly to our Dave Ramsey financial plan
And repeating this money-saving mantra over and over again: “it will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be worth it.”
Sipping tea, and lots of it!
Impatiently waiting for my favorite fall boots to be fixed.
Creating our wedding stationary(!!!!)
Struggling with the late darkness of morning.
Counting down the days until out trip West.
Obsessing over The Tudors series.
Crafting each night.
Crocheting again.
Reading.

Loving all this wedding planning.
Simmering many soups.
Celebrating friends and marriages.

Some Fridays ago, my friends and I hosted a 1920’s bachelorette party at my apartment. Yes, 25 women in my small adobe. It was quite the event! There were clicking heels, clanking glasses and lots of stories to be told. Friday during the day, my friend, Ashley, and I went to town! Once we started decorating, we just couldn’t stop ourselves. Sean rolled his eyes and said we were going a little crazy, but we already knew that. We tried to explain that everyone would appreciate our efforts, ending our conversation with the agreement of gender differences and laughing. In the end, we were happy we went a little crazy. Afterall, wasn’t that the point of the night?

When I walked in the door on Wednesday there was a note from Sean. It said that he had made me some soup, and then in bold letters it told me to “take it easy”. I knew what he meant. I knew he was telling me to lay down and not do anything. I knew he was worried I would begin cleaning up behind myself; clearing up the messes I’ve been too sick to take care of all week. I knew he meant I was not supposed to worry about my dirty soup bowl. I knew he would be mad at me and call me a control freak if I did any of these things, and I knew why. I needed a night of silence to myself; to lay on the futon and watch Mad Men, to take a hot shower and rinse the migraine from my body, to rest my feverish bones. So, I curled beneath my red fleece blanket, a gift from the woman whose children I cared for in Georgia, and followed his instructions. The week came and went with synchronized naps with the twins’ nap times, early bedtimes and plenty of reading a great new book in bed.

These past two weeks have the busiest of the year yet! And probably all of that busy is the reason for my poor health. Many early mornings last week were consumed with coffee and finishing our save the dates, which I can’t wait to share once they’re in the mailbox. Friday was dedicated entirely to planning and decorating for the bachelorette party. We had a friend staying with us two nights, followed by another visitor over the weekend. I wanted to pull my hair out on Thursday, but the power went out in our apartment. Despite the fact that I had a million things to do that night, I decided to let it go. There are some things you can’t control and this was one of them. So I took as a sign from the heavens to relax. We found some candles deep in our junk drawer, poured some wine and played Rummikub by candle light. It was the calm I needed in the storm. But as busy as last week was, I feel accomplished looking back. It’s a good feeling to see the results of all your work. But for now, I’ll head back to the couch for an afternoon of watching The Tutors and eating leftover soup. I’m milking Sean’s advice for as long as I can.

Fall colors. Boots. Tea in the afternoon. Walks through the woods. This is what fall is when you’re a professional nanny. Trust me, I am not complaining! These things are the perfect recipe for great days. And last week, we attempted to bring it all together when we went on an adventure. I gave the kids a brown paper lunch sack with their initial on it. This was their bag and whatever leaves they wanted to put it in, they could. Through the woods we walked, looking on the ground for the prettiest leaves we could find. The forest floor was covered, which was lucky for us, with all sorts of reds, and oranges, yellows and even some left over green leaves. Some, as I was told, were even “tye-dyed” which was pretty exciting. Just how does Mother Nature DO THAT, we wondered aloud.

Days after our walk through the woods, we sat on the porch in the sunshine with paper, glue, sticks, tape and a tree trunk cut out. Then, I dumped the bag of leaves on top of them, making a not so neat swarm of leaves in the middle of us. I let the kids pick out their favorite leaves and together we glued and taped them on the tree trunks. Afterward, we took the circle moons I had pre-cut for them and glued them as the background of our trees. Once the tree trunks with leaves were attached to the paper, we let them dry before finding a very special place in the house to hang them.

This was definitely one of the more entertaining art projects that the pre-schoolers and I have done together. They loved that they were the ones to find the leaves and then incorporate them into a project. It was also fun and different for us to have an art project that extended throughout the week. We’re excited to see what we will be able to do with our leaf collection next!

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It's about moderation and simplicity here at The Green Egg. May my tales of being a nanny, aunt and crafter in Michigan, entice you to slow down, create originally, and give back. We've only got one life, and I intend on having some fun while we're here.
So, please sit down, stay long and read on!

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